


Christmas - Commonwealth Style

by acevael



Series: Princess and the Merc [2]
Category: Fallout 4
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Christmas Presents, F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-26
Updated: 2015-12-26
Packaged: 2018-05-09 14:35:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,053
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5543552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/acevael/pseuds/acevael
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Sole Survivor and MacCready find a special way to celebrate their first Christmas together. Pure Christmas fluff with festive mood, presents, and even a cool skeleton!</p>
            </blockquote>





	Christmas - Commonwealth Style

**Author's Note:**

> Christmas Day was technically yesterday, I know. But I wrote this little thing as a distraction from my family behaving kind of awful yesterday and today, so that’s why it comes a bit late.

"Oh my gosh, it’s Christmas!" Princess’ surprised scream came in the exact same moment MacCready fired his gun. It was the perfect shot, precise as one can be, and as the raider’s head sort of exploded, MacCready felt just a little bit offended because Princess would rather pay attention to her Pip-Boy than his amazing sniping abilities. Or the horde of raiders running toward them, as a matter of fact.

"What do you mean, it’s Christmas?" he mumbled through gritted teeth. With a few well placed shots he could take down at least three raiders before they got closer to them, unless his sniper finally gave up on him after a long battle with rust and wear and tear due to years of mistreatment.

_They could, of course, make that number higher, if Princess would stop looking at her darn wrists._

"Look!" Princess suddenly shoved her arm in front of him, blocking his vision with the screen of her personal computer.

She was right, the date was there on the bottom, clearly displayed under the map of the old building.

"Are you sure this is the right time to discuss this, Sailor? Unless you can convince those guys to go caroling with you, or whatever you did before the war, I doubt Christmas is our biggest concern right now," MacCready said, gently pushing Princess’ arm out of his face.

"Am I sure? This is our first Christmas together! I wanted it to be special, and… look out!" Princess grabbed her combat rifle off the floor and pointed it towards a raider who got dangerously close to MacCready’s head with a pool cue. The discussion about Christmas already forgotten, she narrowed her eyes and stuck her tongue out like she usually did when she was concentrating hard on something, and pulled the trigger three times. Once the raider was dead on the ground, with a series of gaping holes in his chest, Princess returned to MacCready with a kind smile on her face. He couldn't really see her eyes under her hat, but he had a feeling those were smiling too. Cold blooded killer in one second, a housewife ready to serve dinner in the next. MacCready was slowly getting used to the thought that he would never fully understand Princess, and that he was actually fine with that.

"I just…" Princess once again put her rifle down and gently ran her fingers across MacCready’s chest. "Christmas means… it used to mean so much to me, and since you also mean a lot to me, I hoped this one would be…"

"Special." MacCready nodded. Damn her, the way her voice got really low and husky when she whispered to him, and her long fingers with the nails painted red, stroking the collar of his coat like that. "We kill these guys, and we can talk about Christmas, alright?"

Princess’ smile transformed into a full grin and she released MacCready’s coat in a heartbeat.

"This is going to be so much fun!" She squeaked. And then, as if she wasn't talking about her love for Christmas with shining eyes a few seconds before, she killed five raiders without blinking even once. She even used the special technique to aim at their head, MacCready had thought her. He couldn't contain a grin when he noticed her shoulders relaxing and her breathing becoming more even just as he showed her all those months ago. It sure was a nice change when people actually listened to him.

"Okay, Sailor, what is it you want from a special Christmas exactly? Unless it’s a group of dead raiders, because in that case, merry Christmas, your wish has been granted!" MacCready motioned towards the pile of dead bodies and wasn't at all surprised when Princess smacked him on the arm in response.

"Presents would be nice," she shrugged. MacCready felt the color drain from his face. Presents? She actually wanted presents? He was well aware the kind of stuff she used to get from her husband, as she frequently talked about her beloved dresses and pearls that were lost to the war and the centuries that followed. He knew he could never give her something as expensive and beautiful as all that stuff. The Commonwealth was not exactly the best place to find luxuries like that, and he wasn't exactly the kind of man who could afford them anyway.

"RJ, I just had the greatest idea!" Princess clapped like a child on… well, Christmas. "Since it’s Christmas and all the best shops are closed," this earned a snort from MacCready, "we have to be a little creative, right?"

Creative? Oh, MacCready had a few _creative_ ideas, but surely Princess didn’t mean any of that. Not in front of the watchful eyes of a dozen corpses anyway.

"We split up, and meet up here in let’s say, an hour?"

"And what are we doing with that hour?" Did her special Christmas plans actually involve her getting killed? Because MacCready had a few words to say about that. And all those words were different variations of “no freaking way”.

"That’s the best part! We’re going to search the building for the best presents we can find for each other! When the hour’s up we meet here and exchange those presents! What do you say?"

MacCready wanted to protest. He wanted to tell her that it was an awful idea and it will end in disappointment compared to the pre-war Christmases she was used to. But Princess’ cheeks were flushed with excitement, and she was almost bouncing up and down as she stood in front of him. He didn’t have the heart to tell her no. And if this whole Christmas deal was so dang important to her, he would do his best to make it as memorable for her as possible.

"In an hour then. You better have something amazing for me!" MacCready shouted after Princess but she was already jumping over the bodies, frantically tearing the building’s door open, ready to begin her search.

 

* * *

Princess Woodly had an awful habit as a kid: she bit her nails. Bit them when she was nervous, angry, or felt bored doing homework. With great determination she stopped when she decided to become one of the cool kids in high school, and did a great job avoiding chewing on her nails for the next two-hundred or so years. Yet, she still found herself with her index finger in her mouth as she was wandering the old building, looking for a gift that she could give to MacCready.

Checking every room, every drawer and locker, even some bathroom stalls, she suddenly started regretting her idea. Giving him a broken desk fan or a long overdue library book would have just reminded him of all the times when she used him as a sort of personal brahmin to carry resources they found back to various settlements. And he would have preferred something more practical, probably. Like a new shirt to wear under his coat or new combat boots. Maybe a bottle of whiskey, or a pack of cigarettes, but it seemed like the raiders have already picked the place clean. She did find a chem box with a lonely box of Mentats in it, but she quickly decided against those.

She used to be so good at presents, and had her gifts ready for the whole family (including Nate’s second cousin's dog, Munchkin) by the middle of December. Surely, she should have thought of something for the most important person in her life way before Christmas Day.

Princess stopped on the corridor and with a heavy sigh sat down next to an old skeleton. According to her Pip-Boy, she had another forty minutes before it was time to exchange their presents. Twenty more before she would start freaking out properly.

"I don’t suppose you have a gift idea for the guy who is most likely the love of my life, do you?" Princess turned to the skeleton, fully expecting it to do what skeletons did best: remain silent. And thankfully the skeleton did just that. But there was something special about it, which Princess only just then noticed. Someone, probably one of the raiders, placed an unlit cigarette between the skeleton’s teeth, sunglasses on its head, and a sniper rifle in its arms. Princess looked at the gun, its barrel almost shining in the afternoon sunlight, and remembered MacCready’s face as he sometimes cursed the old sniper he was using because it was inaccurate, too heavy, and way too old for the important job that was keeping her safe. The little light bulb in Princess’ head immediately lit up.

"I am so sorry about this, I hope you understand it’s for a good cause!" Princess told the skeleton as she slowly pulled the gun from its bony fingers. She also took the sunglasses, but those were for herself.

As she headed towards the creaky stairs with the sniper thrown over her shoulders, and the sunglasses on her face, cheerfully humming the tune of Jingle Bells, the urge to bite her nails was gone once again.

* * *

MacCready wanted to punch something. So far he picked up at least five pieces of useless junk he found lying around on the bottom floor of the building, but quickly abandoned all of them. Princess had an army of teddy bears already, collected from all around the Commonwealth, surely she would be fine without another one. He wasn't sure whether the red bandana he found in the bottom of a locker would fit her style, although he could think of other situations to use it. He also realized the camera wouldn't work, and they already had ashtrays around the house, all nicer looking than the one he was holding in his hand.

If only he had thousands of caps and enough influence to order dozens of caravans around to search the entire Wasteland for the most beautiful, most unique pre-war dress they could find. Or any of the beauty products Princess liked to talk about so much. But he only had a handful caps rattling in his pockets, and he only had half an hour left to find the perfect gift anyway. Certainly not enough for any kind of caravan action.

Thirty minutes until he would have to stand in front of Princess and tell her how failed to make Christmas special for her. Thirty minutes until he would see her eyes fill up with tears, similar to when she saw dead radstags or heard a settler’s heartbreaking life story. It was very easy to make Princess cry, hell, even MacCready has done it quite a few times in the past, but he would not be responsible for her tears on Christmas Day.

With renewed confidence and determination MacCready decided to check the very top floor of the building. Maybe the raiders didn’t have time to check that one out. Maybe the greatest find of his life was waiting for him there. His mind was filled the image of Princess screaming with joy, throwing her arms around his waist, showering his face with kisses, telling him he was the smartest, greatest, most wonderful man in the world, as she also held the present close. The image of said present, however, was hazy at best.

Being occupied with his thoughts MacCready forgot to pay attention to his surroundings, and one second he felt his foot caught in something, and he was falling face forward towards the dusty wooden floor in the next. He landed with a quiet "oomph", knees and elbows aching after the impact. MacCready heard tiny legs scurrying to nearby rooms away from him and he hoped they wouldn't belong to radroaches. Because that’s what the day was missing. Giant bugs.

"Son of a…" he muttered as he slowly sat up, putting his hat back on his head after losing it with the fall.

There was an old, beaten-up, most likely pre-war suitcase at MacCready’s feet. He’s seen hundreds of them lying around the Commonwealth, and they were a very important part of Princess’ quest to find the outfits of her dreams. The suitcases usually contained rags that were given to settlers, or used to mod her armors.

"Please don’t suck," MacCready told the suitcase as he pulled it in his lap. The lock on it was old, and falling apart by itself, a child could have picked it with zero experience. As MacCready slowly opened the suitcase, the smell of dust and old clothes tickled his nose. That was a good sign.

There was an old yellow dress inside (or perhaps it used to be white?), a decorated box with pre-war money in it, old books, some jewellery that didn’t age well, and under all that junk sat something, MacCready did not expect to see.

Or maybe he did. Maybe that was exactly what he was searching for in the past forty or so minutes, he just wasn't aware of it. It was a strange gift, and he wasn't even sure if Princess would like it, not on Christmas anyway. She did talk about it, and MacCready listened even when she thought he wasn't, but he never expected a moment like this to actually come. It all seemed so surreal. But in his guts he felt it. This was it. He had to do it. If he wanted her to have the perfect Christmas, and he did, he had to take this… _this stuff_ and present it to her. Not just shove it in her face, of course, he truly had to make the moment special.

As he took the stairs by two, carefully paying attention to his surroundings so he wouldn't stumble down and break the present hiding in his coat pocket, MacCready suddenly understood Princess’ festive mood. Christmas sure was quite fun!

* * *

"This is…" MacCready looked confused. Did he not like it? Princess felt tears stinging her eyes already. "It’s a gun."

She ruined Christmas forever. Tried so hard to make it special for both of them, she managed to absolutely and completely fuck it up. Of course he didn’t want a gun. He could get those from anywhere. Even the dead raiders around them carried some, available for anyone who wanted them.

"You hate it." Princess whispered, unable to look into MacCready’s eyes.

"What? No! It’s amazing!" MacCready lifted the sniper’s scope to his eyes. He waited for a few seconds, looking for an acceptable target, then fired a few shots into an old billboard advertising Unstoppables comics. The bullet holes shaped a lopsided heart, and MacCready turned to Princess with a huge grin on his face once he was done. It was the smile she fell in love with, goofy and cocky at same time.

"Such a romantic," Princess sighed, putting her hands on her chest with a dramatic motion. "I wonder if I can expect something equally charming as your Christmas present. A super mutant’s head perhaps, or a can of mac and cheese, or…" Princess gulped when she turned around and saw MacCready holding, not his brand new sniper but something that could only be his gift to her, because why else would he carry something like that around, without saying anything about it. Unless he was waiting for the right moment. For some strange reason he must have thought that standing in front of an old apartment complex, with the evening fog slowly descending on the Commonwealth, and the bodies of dead raiders watching them, was exactly the right moment to hand it to her.

"Merry Christmas, Sailor." MacCready said, and he wasn't smiling anymore. Princess looked at his hands and the present he was holding out for her, then on his face, and his gaze caught hers. She felt a knot forming in her throat, and Princess tried to say something, but the words came out as a series of unidentifiable noises.

"If you said something, that would be amazing." MacCready said. This time his smile returned, but only until he caught Princess’ eyes again. He was right, she should have said something, as he must have thought her silence meant something awful, but after the initial shock Princess was scared she would burst into tears the first time she tried to form an actual answer.

"How… where… _why_ did you get this?" She croaked, and reached out to touch her present with the tip of her fingers just to make sure it was real, but changed her mind in the last second. Maybe it was all a dream which would have shattered if she tried to do something like that.

"Let that stay my little secret for now," MacCready shrugged.

Princess wanted to hug him. No, she wanted to tackle him to the ground and shower his face, his mouth, his everything with kisses until he begged her to stop.

"Can I touch it?" Princess asked, and gasped when MacCready placed the gift in her hands and the cool material touched her skin. Princess lifted it close to her face, then fully recognizing how ridiculous it was, she placed a sloppy kiss on it. Then another, and another, until she started giggling, and noticed that MacCready was laughing too.

"So I guess I don’t even need a real answer, your feelings are quite obvious," MacCready said, slowly shaking his head.

"Are you kidding? This… this is a can of _hair spray_! Most likely a working one too! Perhaps the last one in the entire world! Can you imagine how amazing my hair will look once I get to use it? Oh gosh, I hope I remember the old tricks, it’s been so long since I owned one of these! I'm so happy, I… don’t worry, I'm not going to cry,” Princess laughed again, and hold the can close to her chest, scared that easing her grip would make it disappear.

"Was this at least just a little bit close to the special Christmas you imagined?" MacCready asked. Princess noticed that he already tossed his old sniper away and holstered the new one on his shoulders.

"No." Princess shook her head. "It was much _much_ better than that!" She shouted excitedly and threw her arms around MacCready’s neck, ready to kiss him until next Christmas, or more likely, the next raider group came.

**Author's Note:**

> Merry late Christmas!


End file.
